Dispensing hopper having auger and agitator means



April 26, 1966 K. A. KOHLER FIG. I

Filed May 18, 1964 DISPENSING HOPPER HAVING AUGER AND AGITATOR MEANS 'INVENTOR.

. KARL A. KOHLER BY Wfi4 ATTOARNEY United States Patent Ofihce 3,248,019 Patented Apr. 26, 1965 3,248,019 DISPENSING HOPPER HAVING AUGER AND AGITATOR MEANS Karl A. Kohier, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to General Mills, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 18, 1964, Ser. No. 368,029 6 Claims. (Cl. 222-227) The present invention pertains to a modified dispensing hopper useful in overcoming mass rotation of products which tend to agglomerate while in, a dispensing hopper.

One feature of the present invention is to provide rod means in the interior of a hopper which tends to minimize mass rotation of the material in the hopper.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a unique correlation between the shape of the agitator and the length of the rod means positioned in the interior of the hopper.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description in which certain preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In the drawings which form a part of this description,

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a hopper embodying the present invention with portions of the drawing shown broken away for clarity;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of a portion of the device shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 1, numeral denotes a dispensing hopper mounted on a stationary post 12. The hopper 10 is a vertically extending fimnel or conical-shaped device which is circular in horizontal cross-section with its side wall 14 sloping downwardly and inwardly. The upper end or top portion 16 of the hopper is circular while the lower end or bottom portion 18 is also circular, but with a smaller diameter. The top portion 16 and the lower portion 18 are interconnected by the intermediate cone-shaped side wall portion 14. The opening in the top portion 16 is sometimes called the inlet while the opening in the bottom portion 18 is sometimes called the outlet.

A plurality of rigid stationary stainless steel rods 20, 22, 24, and 26 are-securely aflixed to the intermediate side wall portion 14 of the hopper by means well known in the art, such as threaded fastening means. The rods 20, 22, 24, and 26 are circumferentially positioned along the side wall 14 in a horizontal plane. The rods 20, 22, 24, and 26 extend toward the center of the interior of the hopper 10 from the interior surface of the side wall 14 toward the vertical axis 27 of the hopper. The vertical axis 27 passes through the center of the horizontal circle formed by the horizontal plane of the rods as said horizontal plane intersects the side wall 14.

An agitator 28 adapted to rotate about the vertical axis 27 is positioned in the interior of the hopper 10. The agitator 28 has a portion 30 which extends close to, but is free from contact with, the interior surface of the side wall 14 which is above the horizontal plane formed by the rods 20, 22, 24, and 26. The agitator 28 has another portion 32 which extends close to, but is free from contact with, the interior surface of the side wall 14 which is below said horizontal plane. The upper portion 30 and the lower portion 32 are connected by a U-shaped portion 34 of the agitator. The U-shaped portion 34 is adapted to pass close to, but to be free from contacting, i.e., to bypass, the rods 20, 22, 24, and 26, as the agitator 28 rotates about the vertical axis 27 of the hopper 10. That is, the rods 20, 22, 24 and 26 are short enough in length to be bypassed by the U-shaped portion 34 of the agitator as said agitator portions 30 and 32 move along the interior surface of the side wall 18 as said agitator rotates about the vertical axis 27.

An electric motor 36 is mounted on the stationary support 12. The electric motor 36 is coupled through a drive means 38 .to a vertically extending auger or feed screw 40. The auger 40 is in substantial alignment with the vertical axis 27 of the hopper 10 and with the circular opening in the lower portion 18.

Also coupled to the electric motor 36 through the drive shaft 46 for the auger 40. .lournaled on and upstanding from a radial flange 48 on the upper end of the sleeve 44 is a stub shaft 50 to which is fastened a spur gear 52 meshing with the spur teeth 54 formed on the auger drive shaft 46. Also journaled on and upstanding from the radial flange 48 is a stub shaft 56 to which is fastened a gear 58 meshing with the spur teeth formed on the gear 52. A second gear 60 fastened on the stub shaft 56 meshes with an internal ring gear 62 bolted to the underside of a stationary casing 64 which depends from the housing of the motor 36. Thus, as the auger drive shaft 46 is turned, the gears 52 and 58 cause the stub shaft 56 to rotate. As a result, the gear 60 moves around the ring gear 62 causing the sleeve 44 and hence the agitator 28 to turn about the hopper vertical axis 27 in a direction opposite to which the auger drive shaft 46 is turned. The gears of the drive means 38 can be selected as desired and as is known in the art to effect a speed reduction so v that the agitator turns more slowly than the anger or viceingredients, which are subject to breakage and loss of 7 identity, through the inlet or opening of the upper end portion 16. The material is dispensed from the hopper through the outlet or opening in the lower end 18 by means of the auger 40. The auger 40 is turned or rotated about the vertical axis 27 by the motor 36 through the gear means 38 in a predetermined controlled manner to dispense measured quantities of the material.

The accuracy with which the auger 40 dispenses the desired measured quantities of the material from the hopper 10 depends upon uniformly feeding such material to the auger. This can only be accomplished by the agitator 28 in the absence of mass rotation of such material. In the present invention the absence of mass rotation of the material in the hopper is accomplished by the use of the rigid rods 20, 22, 24, and 26 which extend from the interior surface of the side wall 14 toward the auger 40. These rigid rods in conjunction with the agitator 28, which rotates about the center axis 27 of the hopper 10 in a direction opposite to which the auger 40 rotates and in close proximity to the interior of the side 'Wall 14, act to keep the material in the hopper that would tend to agglomerate from rotating as a solid mass. This tends to keep such material so it can be uniformly fed to the auger 40.

In view of the principles set forth herein, I have shown some of the ways of carrying out the present invention and some of the equivalents which are disclosures.

suggested by these What is claimed is: 1. A dispensing device comprising a hopper having an inlet, an outlet and a conical-shaped-side wall inter- 1 connecting said inlet and outlet, rod means securely afiixed to said hopper and extending from said conicalshaped side wall toward the center of said hopper, and anagitator means adapted to rotate about the axis ofi said hopper and formed to bypass said rod means as it rotates, said agitator having a first portion disposed close to the portion of the interior surface 'of said side wall located between said rod means and said inlet, and a second portion disposed close to the portion of the interior surface of said side wall located between said rod means and said outlet.

2. A dispensing device comprising a hopper having an inlet, an outlet and a conical-shaped side wall interconnecting said inlet and outlet, a plurality of rigid rod means securely afiixed to said hopper, said rods being circumferentially positioned along said side Wall and extending toward the center of said hopper, and an agitator adapted for rotation about the axis of said hopper having a first portion disposed close to the portion of said hopper side wall between said rod means and said inlet, having a second portion disposed to bypass said rod means as said agitator rotates about said hopper axis, and having a third portion disposed close to the portion of said hopper side wall between said rod means and said outlet.

3. A dispensing device comprising a vertically extending conical-shaped hopper having an inlet, an outlet, and a cone-shaped side wall, said inlet and said outlet being interconnected by said cone shaped side wall, a plurality of rigid rod means securely circumferentially afiixed to said cone-shaped side wall and extending toward the center axis of said side wall, and an agitator adapted for rotation about the center axis of said side wall, said agitator having a first portion disposed close to the portion of said side wall above said rod means, a second portion disposed close to said rod means to bypass said rod means as said agitator rotates about said center axis, and a third portion disposed close to the portion of said side wall below said rod means.

4. A dispensing device comprising a vertically extending conical-shaped hopper having an inlet at its upper end, an outlet at its lower end, and an intermediate coneshaped portion interconnecting said inlet. and outlet, a plurality of rigid rods securely affixed to said cone-shaped portion and extending toward the vertical axis of said cone-shaped Portion, an agitator positioned in the space defined by said cone-shaped portion and being rotatable about said vertical axis, said agitator having a first pertion disposed close to said cone-shaped portion which extends above said rods, a U-shaped portion disposed close to while at the same time bypassing said rods as said agitator rotates about said vertical axis, and another portion disposed close to said cone-shaped portion which extends below said rods, an anger substantially coinciding with said vertical axis and in substantial alignment with said outlet, and motor means coupled to said agitator and anger to rotate said agitator and anger in a predetermined controlled manner.

5. A dispensing device comprising a vertically extendt ing conical-shaped hopper circular in horizontal cross section having an inlet at its upper end, an outlet at its lower end which is smaller in diameter than said inlet, and an intermediate cone-shaped side wall interconnecting said inlet and outlet, .a plurality of rigid rods securely aflixed to said side wall in a predetermined horizontal plane and extending toward the center of the horizontal circle formed by the intersection of said horizontal plane with said vertical axis and said outlet, and a motorcoupled to said agitator andsaid auger to rotate said agitator and said auger in a predetermined controlled manner.

6. A dispensing device as set forth in claim 5 in which said motor is coupled to said agitator and said auger to rotate said agitator and said auger in opposite directions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 145,027 11/1873 Stoll 250-43 1,585,169 5/1926 Perkins ,et a1 259-43 1,690,476 11/1928 Christiansen 222237 X 2,532,913 12/ 1950 Higginbottom 222241 2,589,583 3/1952 Thompson 222241 X 3,148,802 9/1964 Webb 222-241 X- M. HENSON WOOD, 111., Primary Examiner.

LOUIS J. DEMBO, Examiner.

A. N. KNOWLES, Assistant Examiner. 

